HWA bring DTM nostalgia to N24 with three EVO Rs
- Aaron Carroll
- 31 minutes ago
- 4 min read
HWA Engineering will be entering this weekends Nürburgring 24 Hours with not one, not two, but three HWA EVO R's.
The cars are based off the 1990 Mercedes 190E 2.5 Evo II that competed in the DTM from 1991-1994, and dominated the championship in 1992, at the hands of Klaus Ludwig.
The EVO R is also the racing version of the road-going HWA EVO, which features a 3.0L twin-turbo V8 engine.
The three race cars will be competing in the SP-X class, alongside the BMW M3 Touring GT3 and a KTM X Bow GTX from Reiter Engineering. The three cars each sport different liveries, and will be run as the No.61, No.62 and No.63 entries.
No.61
The first of the trio will be driven by Adam Adelson, Lance David Arnold, James Green and Renger van der Zande.
Adelson is best known for his exploits in IMSA with his Wright Motorsports team. The GTD team usually run a Porsche 911 GT3, finishing sixth in class in last years championship. He has almost entirely driven Porsche machinery during his career.
Arnold is somewhat of a N24 veteran, competing in every edition of the race since 2008 (except 2010 and 2025). He's finished on the overall podium three times in the event, with two third places and a best result of second in 2014. All three came in Mercedes GT3 cars.
Green is another that comes with a wealth of experience. The 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series champion had an extensive DTM career over the course of a decade and a half. His best results include second in 2012 with HWA, and a string of second, third and third from 2015-2017 with Audi Sport Team Rosberg.
Last but certainly not least in this car is van der Zande. The current Acura GTP driver in IMSA has spent the majority of his career driving prototypes in the US, but he has raced the N24 before. A second place in 2016 is the highlight of his ventures onto the green hell.
No.62
The second of the two cars will be sporting a predominantly yellow and white livery, and piloted by Adelson, Sebastian Asch, Luca Ludwig and Markus Winklehock.
Adelson makes it double duty with this entry, balancing the No.61 and No.62 across the 24 hours.
Asch is the first of two sons of drivers of the original Mercedes 190E in the DTM. His father Roland drove the Evo II from 1990-1993, finishing the 1993 championship as runner-up. Sebastian has plenty of N24 experience under his belt too, driving various classes of cars through the years.
Ludwig is the second of two second generation drivers. He is the son of three time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and three time DTM champion Klaus Ludwig (winning the 1992 edition in the 190E Evo II). Luca has plenty of N24 experience too, with two class wins in 2009 and 2010, one of those coming with Winklehock.
Speaking of the 45 year-old German, his racing record is one filled with all kinds of experience and achievements. The highlight for most would be his single Formula One appearance at the 2007 European Grand Prix for the backmarker Spyker team, where Winklehock started last and managed to lead the race on lap 2 in the rain.
He eventually retired with a mechanical issue, and was dropped by the team after just one race. His other achievements include three overall wins in the N24, an Intercontinental GT Challenge title and a Blancpain Sprint Cup title.
No.63
The final car of the trio will be raced by Christian Gebhardt, Evald Holstad, Peter Ludwig and Bruno Spengler.
Gebhardt brings plenty of N24 experience, with drives in many different classes up and down the grid. His highlights include class wins in SP8T (2015 and 2018), SP-X (2016), SP3T (2021) and SP11 (2024).
Holstad is a Norwegian entrepreneur, that mainly drives trackdays and dabbles in historic racing. His three races in the NLS this year are his first venture into professional racing.
Ludwig (not related to Luca or Klaus) comes from a background of mainly one-make series, competing in all of Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini one-make machinery. He also has a few appearances in the N24 before, with limited success.
Spengler is another that had a DTM career spanning more than a decade. The French born Canadian driver won the series in 2012 with BMW, after spending the first half of his career with HWA and Mercedes.
HWA ran two entries in both NLS 3 and the N24 qualifiers with some mixed up driver line-ups.
In NLS 3 they ran the No.61 and No.62 with three driver line-ups. The No.62 finished 18th overall, and second in SP-X (behind only the Reiter KTM). However, the No.61 suffered a puncture early on, ending their race early.
The same two cars returned in the Qualifiers with different line-ups, where they both finished race 2. The No.62 led the way in 23rd overall, with the No.61 in 28th (2nd and 3rd in SP-X, behind the BMW M3 Touring). Race 1 results were not classified due to the fatal crash that took the life of Juha Miettinen.
The three HWAs will be in action in the race this weekend, the 16th and 17th of May.
